Hazanavicius, whose best director Academy award was one of five won by the French-produced silent film, is set to take the reins of In the Garden of Beasts, a non-fiction study of the experiences of the US ambassador to Nazi Germany in the run-up to the second world war. Hanks will play William Dodd, the history professor who was sent by President Roosevelt to occupy the sensitive post, and Natalie Portman is being courted to play Dodd's vivacious daughter Martha, who initially embraces the excitement of prewar Berlin before realising the darker side of the Nazi regime.

Before the success of The Artist, Hazanavicius was best known for a pair of spy spoof movies, OSS 117, both starring his Artist lead Jean Dujardin. Hazanavicius was one of the directors of the Dujardin portmanteau film The Players, which was completed before The Artist's Oscar triumph, and Hazanavicius has a handful of upcoming projects listed, including a comedy produced by Will Ferrell. But In the Garden of Beasts is likely to become his first major film to go into production since ascending to the Hollywood firmament.